


Slytherin's Legacy Drabbles & Meta

by AFTanith



Series: Slytherin's Legacy [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Drabble Collection, Fic of Fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2020-07-25 18:23:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 3,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20030299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AFTanith/pseuds/AFTanith
Summary: A series of drabbles, one-shots, extractions, and meta set in the universe ofSlytherin's Legacy.





	1. lover100 | general table | prompt #1 - beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> I'm trying to avoid major spoilers here, but I'm taking minor spoilers (like when certain inevitable things happen, the general tones of certain relationships, etc.) as pretty much inevitable*. Spoilers will still be marked, of course, for those readers who want to avoid them.
> 
> (*The further I get in the series, the more I'll be able to write drabbles without potentially spoiling anything. With only the first installment nearly completed at the moment, drabble content will be limited to the events of _To Dwell on Dreams_ and those events in early chapters of _Enemies of the Heir_ that overlap with events of early chapters of _Chamber of Secrets_. Major canon divergences between _Enemies of the Heir_ and _Chamber of Secrets_ will go unspoiled, as will all events from post-EotH installments.)
> 
> Also! These drabbles are not necessarily going to be completely "canon" to the _Slytherin's Legacy_ series proper. While some events and scenes will overlap, anything that appears here should be understood as kind of a first draft or concept/brainstorm; the finalized versions that appear beyond this drabble collection may differ in tone, context, details, etcetera from what happens here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This drabble contains spoilers for the final chapters of _To Dwell on Dreams_ (#1) and _early chapters of Enemies of the Heir (#2)_.

It comes on slowly.

At first, Harry's nothing more than a scrawny eleven-year-old that Delphi wants to be friends with. Sure, he's a celebrity and his friendship will come with perks, but honestly, it's more about showing up Draco than anything else.

But then he's her friend, and he needs someone to rescue him from the siren song of the Mirror, and he's more interested in solving mysteries than schoolwork, and he's brave enough to go save the Stone alone.

And then Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived himself, is _speaking Parseltongue_, and Delphi finally realizes she's head over heels.


	2. lover100 | general table | prompt #2 - middles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry is, quite inevitably, the lynchpin of their entire friendship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This drabble contains implied spoilers for the final chapters of _To Dwell on Dreams_ (#1).

Though the hospital bed gets in the way, it can't stop their celebration. All five fall into a group hug that Delphi doesn't even see coming until it's already there: Ron and Hermione on one bedside, their arms tangling around Harry and one another while Delphi and Neville do the exact same thing on the other side of the bed.

And Harry sits in the middle of it all, one hand tangled in the frizz of Hermione's hair and the other clapped on Neville's shoulder, while Delphi wonders if he's ever gotten this much affection before in his entire life.


	3. lover100 | general table | prompt #3 - ends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In retrospect, Delphi thinks she might be able to attribute her _thing_ for dueling--for duel_ists_\--to that first book that Quirrell gave her.
> 
> ...which is not the most comforting thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This quadruple drabble really only fits the "lover" theme in the most roundabout fashion possible, but I'm not too terribly concerned with actually sticking to theme anyway. I'm mostly looking for inspiration via prompts, not challenge. *shrug*
> 
> Anyway, this is set during chapter seven of _To Dwell on Dreams_.

Delphi read the final page of _The Art of Dueling_, snapped it shut, and set it face-down in her lap.

It had been a surprisingly good read, all things considered. She hadn't expected to be particularly interested in it, truth be told; she'd never found dueling to be especially intriguing. Dueling had always struck her as rather mercenary and thuggish, and her interests had always been more in line with the mysterious and the clandestine aspects of magic. She wanted to know about Seers and Unspeakables and the Department of Mysteries; Aurors and competitive duelists and their ilk were dreadfully dull by comparison.

But... _The Art of Dueling_ didn't have more than a few words about Aurors. Competitive dueling did get more than enough attention, but in between all the information about dueling etiquette, the history of formalized and illegal dueling rings and championships, and the ever-growing lists of off-limits spells, there was a wealth of truly fascinating knowledge. There was information about Dark Lords, more than a few of which -- Voldemort included -- were accomplished duelists who could take down an entire team of Aurors with only a few spells. There was information about Merlin, whose deeds were so mythic and unbelievable that if they weren't for the most part verifiable, they all would've been chocked up to a children's bedtime story.

Near the end of the book, Professor Dumbledore's famed duel with Grindelwald got its own entire chapter, and some of the spells it claimed that they'd used were nearly as shocking as anything Merlin had done. Delphi could only imagine that witnessing such immensely powerful, creative, and deadly magic must have been as exhilarating as it was terrifying--and she could only dream of what it would feel like to harness such powers for herself.

Dueling, it seemed, could also be an expression of immense power, magical finesse, and unbridled inspiration. A duelist -- a true duelist, not just someone who played at the craft during tournaments -- needed speed and skill and accuracy; they needed to know how to use the Dark Arts and all manner of cruel magic, and they needed to know when to use those skills. They needed a powerful wand, nerves of steel, a quick mind, and raw talent. Delphi very much hoped she had those inside her, too.

_The Art of Dueling_ might have reached its ending, but Delphi's path had only just begun.


	4. lover100 | general table | prompt #4 - firsts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Delphi's first real crush had been on a fictional character, and there's probably nothing terribly unusual about that. It's the _who_ of it, though, that reflects rather poorly on her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is very heavily inspired by my own first crush on a fictional character. If anyone can figure out who it was and/or what story they're from, I'll be very amused. If you're familiar with the story, you should recognize the hints here as pretty obvious, but I'm honestly not sure how many people even remember it or liked it at the time; no one ever seems to talk about it anymore, at least in places I frequent.

Delphi fell in love for the first time at seven years old.

Not _really_, of course, but that's what it had felt like when it happened. She'd had crushes before -- she'd pecked Draco not quite on the lips when she was five and cackled as he'd gone sprinting away with a shriek of utter terror -- she'd caught a glimpse of Blaise Zabini when she was six and thought his dark skin strikingly attractive -- there was even that antique portrait she'd been obsessed with as a child, and in retrospect, she had no doubt it'd been because the portrait's subject had been a very handsome man indeed.

But she'd read _Darkseed _when she was seven, and with her preadolescent understanding of affection, she'd been sure that she'd fallen head over heels in love.

It had been a silly little story, not the kind of thing she'd be interested in reading by the time her Hogwarts years had rolled around. It was the tale of a group of teenage witches and wizards fighting against the attempted uprising of an adolescent Dark Lord styling himself the Emperor. And the Emperor had been a smirking dark-haired genius, brimming with competence and arrogance and flair, and Delphi had wished more than anything in the world that he was real.

She would've helped him, she'd thought at the time. If she'd been one of the Chosen, as the heroes had been called, she would've been on his side.

Now, with two encounters with the _actual_ Dark Lord already under her belt -- including one in which he'd been a handsome, smirking, dark-haired teenage genius himself -- she's repulsed by the thought that there had ever been something inside her that had been drawn to someone like that.

And she's terrified to think it might still be there somewhere.


	5. lover100 | general table | prompt #5 - friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for early chapters of _Enemies of the Heir_ (#2).

Delphi doesn't know what to do with her feelings. She's never had to deal with this before; she's never even considered it. Is it normal for people to have crushes on their friends? She's always thought of crushes as something to get on strangers or acquaintances. Friends are friends, meant for hanging out and playing chess and stuff. Crushes are entirely different, meant for daydreaming and doodling and maybe holding hands if you're brave enough.

But a crush on a friend? That's just dangerous.

...what will happen to their friendship if Delphi likes Harry, but he doesn't like her back?


	6. lover100 | general table | prompt #6 - hours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A day in the life...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set sometime during chapter eleven or twelve of _To Dwell on Dreams_ (#2).

**12am**  
Delphi sleeps like the dead.

**1am**  
Delphi rolls over on her transfigured mattress. The sheets she transfigured out of parchment are still scratchy against her skin.

**2am**  
A little hiss near her ear wakes Delphi for a heartbeat. She drifts back off almost immediately after she recognizes Boros.

**3am**  
The witching hour comes and goes, and a castle's worth of witches sleeps.

**4am**  
Delphi is startled awake by her own dream. For a few seconds afterward, she still imagines she can hear the crow of a rooster.

**5am**  
Boros slithers quickly away with an angry hiss after Delphi nearly squashes him in her sleep.

**6am**  
Delphi hears Filch's voice on the other side of the classroom door. He leaves, but she can't fall back asleep.

**7am**  
Delphi finally drags herself out of bed.

**8am**  
Harry smiles at her when Delphi sits down beside him at the Gryffindor table. Even though Ron barely affords her a glance, too busy staring down in despair at his half-finished Transfiguration homework, and Hermione is too busy lecturing Ron to say hello, Delphi's satisfied.

**9am**  
Herbology is a lonely lesson. Delphi has no friends in Slytherin or Ravenclaw. Only Lilly Moon even bothers to be polite.

**10am**  
Delphi meets Hermione in the library during their shared free period. The boys are here today, too, doing the occasional bit of homework in between bickering about which Quidditch players are the best.

**11am**  
Harry, Ron, and Hermione walk with Delphi to Transfiguration. Ron's essay is still an inch too short, but time's up. McGonagall will probably give him detention if she seems him working on it in the classroom.

**12pm**  
The Gryffindors head off to Charms. Delphi rushes back to her abandoned classroom; she's only got the next hour to work on her spell.

**1pm**  
Delphi returns to the Gryffindor table for lunch. Seamus and Dean seem to be ignoring Neville today, and he sits down beside Hermione. Ron gives him a funny look, and he doesn't quite interject himself into the group, but his presence is felt nevertheless.

**2pm**  
Delphi and her friends spend their free period in the library, talking in hushed voices about Snape, Quirrell, and the Philosopher's Stone.

**3pm**  
When their speculation runs dry, their attention turns toward what they would do if the Philosopher's Stone was theirs. Ron would create riches; Hermione would use it as a starting point to study alchemy; Delphi would begin brewing the Elixir of Life. Harry's the only one to suggest that they give it back to Dumbledore.

**4pm**  
Defense Against the Dark Arts is always such a strange experience. Quirrell is an entirely different person during class; Delphi much prefers the man he is after hours.

**5pm**  
The Hogwarts house elves prove their prowess every supper, and tonight it's the most delicious lamb that Delphi's ever tasted. As they eat and the conversation momentarily lulls, Neville actually works up the nerve to contribute. It's a surprise, for sure, but not a wholly unwelcome one.

**6pm**  
Quirrell looks at Delphi with a kind of pride that she's only ever seen on Lucius's face before, and she loves every second of it.

**7pm**  
Delphi races to finish her homework so she can get back to work on her spell.

**8pm**  
Delphi accidentally lights her bedspread on fire. She's not sure how she managed it, since her wand was pointed at her book.

**9pm**  
Working on her spell is getting her nowhere tonight, so Delphi gives up for now. Instead, she lies in bed, wondering what Harry, Ron, and Hermione are doing in the Gryffindor common room.

**10pm**  
Delphi settles under the covers in an empty room. She's used to it--she's always had her own bedroom before, and she certainly doesn't miss sharing with Pansy Parkinson--but she envies Ron and Harry for getting to sleep so close to each other. They can whisper to each other in the dark of night, reassure one another with their presence if one of them has a nightmare, even crawl into bed with each other and snuggle... unless boys don't do that? Delphi's not sure, but she thinks that she might, if it were her.

**11pm**  
Delphi finally falls asleep.


	7. Extraction: Delphi Gets Help from Fred & George (Take #1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was my original take on the Dephi & Fred & George scene of chapter twelve. While writing it, I couldn't seem to hammer it into what I wanted it to be, so this was ultimately scrapped in favor of the version included in the story proper.
> 
> Honestly, in retrospect, I'm not sure why I hated this so much; it really only needed the addition of Delphi being able to recognize which of the twins was which, and it would've worked perfectly well.
> 
> ~ neuroticism ~

"Yes," Delphi said impatiently. "I want to read it. Can I have it back?"

"What d'you want with it?" asked Number One.

"To read it, obviously. What do you do with books?"

Number One exchanged a smirking glance with Number Two. "Reading--" he said.

"--and, occasionally, pranking," said his brother. "But that's not what we meant."

"What kind of spell are you trying to create?" asked Number One. He grinned impishly, like he couldn't wait to hear what she had to say--and, more importantly, couldn't wait to put the information to some mischievous use.

"Doesn't matter," said Delphi. She grabbed at the book, but Fred-or-George snatched it out of the way too quickly. She glared. "Would you please give me that?"

"You know this stuff's dangerous, right?" asked Number Two.

"I heard about a guy last year," said Number One. "He was working on an alternative to Floo Powder."

"I remember," agreed Number Two. "Fused himself with his own brick wall, the poor blighter. Ministry couldn't do a thing for him."

Number One narrowed his eyes skeptically at Delphi, but she could tell there was more playful mockery to it than actual judgment. Not that it did anything to ease her nerves. "Do you look forward to accidentally fusing yourself with a wall?"

"No," said Delphi. "That's why I want the book. I keep accidentally lighting things on fire and blasting them across the room, and while that's very amusing, it's not quite what I'm going for."

"Well, it's efficient mayhem, if nothing else," said Number One.

"But we'd hate if our little brother's second most interesting friend became part of the architecture."

Delphi glared, biting her tongue on the words second most interesting. "So you're not going to give it to me, then?"

"Nope!" said Number One brightly. "We're going to do you one better."


	8. Extraction: There's Another Parselmouth!?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This rather large section was excised from Chapter Seven of _To Dwell on Dreams_. It kind of got away from me while I was writing, and I couldn't seem to get a proper grasp on Quirrell-mort here (hell, I _still_ don't think I've got a proper grasp on Quirrell, and I'm almost fucking through with him), and I ended up cutting the subplot about Delphi knowing there was another Parselmouth in the school.
> 
> In retrospect, I probably should've left that subplot that in. Ah, well. Hindsight's a bitch.

"Yet you think it's worth it?"

"I think so. Even if I didn't, I'm committed to it now. I've no interest in backtracking."

"I'm sure you could easily win your housemates over if you tried. They're only children. They'd be easy to manipulate."

Delphi heard the unspoken words there: _all_ eleven-year-olds are easily manipulated, he could manipulate her with as little effort as it would take for her to manipulate her peers, and there was very little chance that he _wasn't_ already manipulating her far more than she even realized. She paid all of it no mind; she would get to the bottom of this, and if there were danger ahead, she would disentangle herself before it drew too near her.

"I don't want to trade what I've already achieved for what I _might_ achieve instead. I don't mind being the outcast so long as I get what I want. Besides, Slytherin doesn't have the power it would like to pretend it does; Slytherins' assets are their money and political influence, and more of that slips outside of the house with every generation. Harry Potter could easily change that once and for all. I'm a Slytherin; I know it, I feel it, and I'm proud of it. But I'm not the kind of Slytherin that the rest of them are. They're... they're not worth it. They don't have anything to offer that I can't find somewhere else."

"So you don't mind all the time you're spending alone?" he asked. There was no expression on his face at all; just the blank slate of a man listening without passing any judgment. "I've seen you at meals; you're a veritable outcast. I can't imagine things are easier in the girl's dorm than they are in public." Now, there did seem to be a hint of disapproval in the way he surveyed her. "I had expected you to be popular."

_That_ surprised her. Why in the world would he have ever expected that? Because of her appearance? Surely not because of her family name or her Death Eater parents; there had always been a good chance that her parent's reputations might've already ruined hers before she ever came to the school--even, perhaps, among the Slytherins.

"I'm sure you know who my parents are, professor. I might've been able to earn the Slytherins over by playing things safe, but the rest of the school would never have liked me after what happened to the Longbottoms... But they like Harry Potter." As the words escaped her, Delphi couldn't help wondering herself how much of it was true. How of her motives were the logic of it all? How much of her decision was wrapped up the knowledge that there really was more to gain by being Harry Potter's friend than just another popular Slytherin girl, and how much of it was just that she couldn't stand to lose out on having something that she'd already set her mind to have? How much of her actions were done in the pursuit of advantage, and how much of it was simply a desire to win in spite of almost certain odds?

Part of her still cursed her decision to ever place that bet with Draco.

"And they'll always like Harry Potter," Delphi pressed on. "Even if he disappoints the entire world, all of Britain will still love him because of what's in that book." She nodded toward _Modern Civil War_. "He would have the brightest future of our generation even if he was the greatest dunce. Positioning myself against him for no reason would offer very little gain. Positioning myself close to him, on the other hand... Well, I expect that Harry Potter will always be a very good friend to have." Delphi's gaze fell for a moment, and so too--just for a moment--did the protective wall of logic she had built around her motives. "And I like him. He's nice."

Quirrell raised a very skeptical brow. Until these last words, he seemed to be following along with her argument; this, though, earned the faintest hint of a sneer. "Then read the book, Delphini. You need to know what's in it--because of who you're making friends with, because of who your parents were, and because of where the world is heading. Knowledge of the last twenty years will be very important in the next twenty, I am sure."

Delphi nodded. Why he was being so clear about the purpose of this book and so oblique about the purpose of the last five, she did quite yet understand. She would've appreciated it... if it weren't for the fact that it made her just as suspicious as everything else. "I understand, sir."

"As for the other Slytherins, you are right about one thing: even if you aren't truly one of them, I daresay you are a true Slytherin. Unless I am very much mistaken, this school will become a very dear home to you. I certainly always felt a connection to it, even if I didn't always quite understand I." He surveyed her very closely for a moment, and then his eyes met hers. His gaze seemed so much more intense than it ever had before; Delphi barely suppressed a shudder. "Get to know the castle. Explore the school. Use what you've learned already to see what other secrets you can ferret out. Hogwarts has a thousand years of history, and even the greatest wizards who have passed through its halls haven't learned everything. You, I think, will have more success in this discovery than most."

Delphi was baffled, but she didn't dare show it. Besides, she was fairly sure she'd just had a teacher give her permission to go snooping out of bounds. _That_ was not a offering to reject. "I will, sir."

"Very well. Before you go, there is one last thing." He rose from his desk and walked to the far corner of the room, where stood a antique globe that she'd never once seen him actually use. "You misplaced something, Miss Lestrange."

Craning her head to see what he was talking about, Delphi's eyes went wide as she watched him pluck what looked from the distance to be a black length of rope from one of the legs of the globe stand. She didn't say anything as Quirrell carried Boros back to her; no one was supposed to know she spoke Parseltongue, and she was loathe to be caught like this. Damn the snake's wandering.

Quirrell let the little snake slither out of his hands and onto the desk in front of Delphi. Boros hesitated before slithering toward Delphi, who didn't waste a moment in gathering him up and tucking him out of sight beneath her sleeve. "Snakes are not a welcome pet here at Hogwarts, as I'm sure you will recall from your letter this summer. Take care that he is not found wandering again."

Delphi's brow furrowed. "But how did you know--"

Again, Quirrell raised a brow. "Because I watched him slither out of your bookbag at the end of the last Defense lesson. You'd do better to keep watch of him, considering all the owls. And Delphi? I'm sure you understand that there is a certain... suspicion around wizard who keep snakes as pets."

"I do. I won't let him get caught again, sir."

"Good. Then you may go."

With Boros wrapped around her forearm, Delphi shoved her books into her bag and hastily bid her retreat.

* * *

As soon as Delphi found herself a properly seclude alcove, she shoved her narrow body into its confines and pulled down her sleeve to glare at her snake. "_Boros!_" she hissed at him in a language she all but forbidden to speak. "_How could you let yourself get caught? You were supposed to be careful! If you can't take care of yourself, you can't be loose!_"

Boros stared at her for a moment, not speaking. Delphi felt a twinge of panic. What was wrong with him? Had something happened? "_Boros_?" she pressed. "_Are you alright?_"

"_I'm... confused_," the snake hissed in a tone of voice that Dlephi had never heard before. Snakes were always proud creatures, never ones to show any weakness short of on their dying beds. That Boros sounded so weak and disoriented now... What had happened to the poor little beast?

"_What about? Tell me, and I can help!_"

"_There's a gap_," he hissed quietly. "_I think... my memory is gone._"

"_You're not old enough for that. You only hatched this summer, Boros. How can you be losing your memories? What don't you remember? What_ do _you remember?_"

"_I remember... a man._" His tongue flickered out to taste the air. "_A man who could speak, as you do. But... I can't recall his face, or where we were, or why._"

Delphi couldn't believe what she was hearing. "_Another Parselmouth? Who? Not_ Quirrell?"

"_No_," Boros hissed, and for all he had sounded confused until now, suddenly he sounded very sure. "_Not the man who returned me to you. I remember him, as well, but the man who spoke... He was someone else. Someone..._" He trailed off, not finishing the thought. Delphi worried.

"_You shouldn't leave me again, Boros_," she said quietly. "_If there's another Parselmouth here, we're at far greater risk of being caught. And I can't imagine who it could be! Quirrell is suspicious enough, I would almost have been willing to believe it was him, but if you say it's not..._" Dephi shook her head. "_I don't understand. I always thought I was the only one. How many of us are really hiding this? How many people have you ever met who could speak to you, Boros? How many have you ever even heard of from other snakes?_"

"_Only you_," Boros hissed. "_And now the man._"

Delphi sighed. Things were getting more complicated all the time now that she had come to school. A part of her almost missed the lazy summer days that she'd left behind. "_Alright,_" she said. "_Stay with me from now on. And if you remember anything else, please let me know. If there's another Parselmouth here..._" Just as Boros had, Delphi let the words die before reaching her lips.

If there was another Parselmouth somewhere at Hogwarts, they might be the friend that Delphi had been longing for her entire life, someone who could share a part of her that she'd never once believed anyone would ever be able to.

Or they could be the single greatest danger to her in the entire school. Only time would tell.


End file.
